The Team 8 Chunin Exams
by Amateur Marauder
Summary: Follow Hinata, Kiba and Shino as they travel with Kakashi, Guy, Sakura, Lee and TenTen to the Hidden Cloud Village in attempts to become Chunin. Facing not only a colorful and deadly cast of Shinobi from all other villages of their world, they test and exceed their limits to find and conquer their most difficult enemy; themselves.
1. A Promise

**Chapter One**

**A Promise**

Kiba Inuzuka was sprinting through the forest of the Land of Fire. While it was polite for him to normally wait for his comrades and allow them to keep up with him, he ignored their cries to slow his pace.

The violet haired girl with ash grey eyes was behind him breathing heavily. "Kiba, Shino and I can't keep up!" she pleaded.

Kiba was far too focused to worry about her. "We have to get to the village before registration closes, Hinata!" he yelled. "We missed it last time, but I won't miss it this year!"

"Shino, make him stop!" Hinata cried to the third member of her team, Shino Aburame.

With a voice muffled from under his cloak, he sighed. "You know as well as I do how he is. He's still bitter about missing the Chunin Exams like last time."

Kiba yelled back. "IM NOT BITTER, SHINO!"

About two years ago, months after Naruto Uzumaki left the village, the Chunin Selection Exams were held in the Hidden Mist Village. However, the team was forced on an escort mission in the eastern Land of Fire. They were to escort a family of thirteen to an outpost town. However the father of one of the children neglected to inform the ninja of the Leaf Village that one of the children was a known sleep walker. They were set back two days after trying to locate them, and were forced to miss the registration as a result. The team that did go however was the Team of Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, and Choji Akimichi, led by Asuma Sarutobi. This infuriated Kiba, namely because Sakura had not been selected to become a Chunin, but Ino and Choji were. On the last Chunin exams that took place in the Hidden Leaf, Neji Hyuga and Shikamaru Nara were selected, only infuriating Kiba more that he was a part on the only full team to not have a Chunin. Sure, Sakura wasn't a Chunin, but she didn't even have a team. He refused to miss the registration this time.

"We have fifteen minutes!" he yelled. "You guys can catch up! I'm not letting Lady Fifth close registration on us!"

Without further regard for his teammates, he ran faster ahead towards the Hokage's mansion. He quickly faded from their view.

It took seemingly ten minutes before Hinata and Shino forced their way into the office of the Hokage, hardly having air in their lungs. As they were busy forcing themselves to breathe, their ears were shot with a booming voice.

"You do not need to worry, young Kiba!" they heard with a familiar voice.

The noise was coming from a tall male wearing all green with a bowl haircut. The Odd Beast himself, Might Guy.

"No! It's not okay, Guy-Sensei!" Kiba yelled.

Shino managed to force a few gulps of air into his chest. "What's… The problem here?"

Kiba turned to his teammates. "Kurenai-Sensei can't travel to the Cloud!"

Shino and Hinata's eyes widened. "Why not? They both asked.

The Hokage, Lady Tsunade was the one to explain. "It was law set up by the Second Hokage." She said, nearly invisible behind a mountain of paperwork. "Pregnant ninja are not allowed to travel outside of the Land of Fire. I'm not going back on that principle."

Hinata's jaw dropped. "So who will be our Jonin?"

Shino paused and had to process this information. "Kurenai-Sensei is pregnant?"

Kiba slammed his hands on the desk belonging to Lady Tsunade.

"There has to be someone who could take us!" Kiba yelled. "There has to be a Jonin not on a mission!"

Tsunade brushed some of her blonde hair out of her eyes. "At the moment, there are no Special-Jonin that are available to travel. They are all on duty inside the village. Other than that, there are no Jonin in the village other than Might Guy." She said.

"Then why can't he take us!?" Kiba yelled.

"Because young Kiba!" Guy placed his head on Kiba's coarse brown hair. "I am taking my very own team to the Hidden Cloud village. Lee, TenTen and Sakura are busy making their preparations."

Kiba wanted to rip his hair out. He was not going to miss the Chunin Exams for a second straight time, not while Sakura was about to go to her _third consecutive_ exam! "There has to be _someone_ who can take us!" Kiba pleaded.

Shino was still confused. "So Kurenai-Sensei is pregnant?"

An awkward silence followed, and breaking it were two people walking into the office of Lady Tsunade. The first of these people were Shizune, the dark haired aide of the Hokage. The second was another dark haired, person. They were a man with considerable height, dark hair, and smoldering grey eyes, much like the pair that belonged to Hinata. Yet this man's eyes were colder and much harsher. The man was her father; Hiashi Hyuga.

"Father." she mumbled as she placed her hands to her lips, using her arms as some sort of a barrier to hide behind. This was an unconscious tradition she allowed herself to succumb to, and she wasn't exactly sure when she picked this habit up.

The man had not made eye contact with his daughter yet. "You wanted to see me, Lady Hokage?" he asked.

"Ah, yes. We had something important to dis-"

"I KNOW!" Kiba yelled. "You can take us!" he pointed to Hiashi Hyuga.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat.

"I have more important matters to attend to." He said. "Even if I could-" he shot a quick glare at his daughter, strong enough to make her heart skip another beat. "I wouldn't."

Kiba screamed aloud in frustration. "Registration closes in five minutes!"

Tsunade was getting fed up with Kiba's vocal disapproval. "KIBA! I'm going to need you to take a moment and realize just who the hell you're yelling at!"

Kiba's mouth was shut, but disappointment and anger were still prominently displayed on his face.

"Now, I'm sorry you aren't able to go this time, but this won't be the last time that the Chunin Exams will be held. Now leave my office before I have you scrub the floors of the academy as punishment! I promise you, you'll get nothing but a toothbrush and a time limit!"

Defeated, Kiba turned on his heels and slowly walked past Hiashi and Shizune to the door. Hinata felt defeated and saddened as well, but not the extent Kiba was. Actually, she was excited to leave the same room her father was in. Shino was still trying to cope with the fact that Kurenai-Sensei was now pregnant, and nobody told him.

There are times in your life when you really begin to believe in miracles and that there is a such thing as fate. This was now Kiba's time to do so. As soon as he opened the door, and stepped through it, he bumped into a tall masked ninja with white hair.

"Sorry about that Kiba." The ninja said.

Guy, Hinata, Shino, Tsunade, Shizune and Kiba all yelled at the newest person to join the room. "KAKASHI!" they screamed.

Kakashi appeared to be visibly startled. "What? Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"No, you didn't." Tsunade said. "I wasn't expecting you back for another day."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, a habit he unfortunately picked up from his blonde haired student. Even though he hadn't seen him in two years, Kakashi still found himself unable to break the habit. "Well, yes. That was until I ran into a bookstore and saw the newest release from Lord Jiraya. Needless to say I rushed home to read it."

Tsunade smiled. "That man and his books. I don't even want to think of what kind of research he had to do to write it."

Kiba had enough with formalities. "Kakashi-Sensei could take us to the Chunin Exams!"

Kakashi had a blank stare on his face. "That's right. Those exams. Uh…"

Tsunade clearly didn't plan for this as well. "Well… uh. I guess he-"

"YEEEEEES!" Kiba yelled. "Pencil us in for the Hidden Cloud, Lady Tsunade!"

Kakashi hung his head. He had literally just gotten back from the Land of Lightning, and now he was supposed to go back?

"Kakashi," Tsunade began. "The Chunin Exams are two weeks away, and the paperwork is due in the cloud in," she checked the olive green clock on the adjacent. "Four minutes. Can you take these three there?"

Kakashi sighed. "Uh, sure. I don't see why not. Actually, as long as everything is settled we can leave tomorrow."

"TOMORROW!?" Kiba yelled. "Waahooo! I'm going to go gather my things now!" Kiba kicked up a cloud of dust and sent everyone in the room on a coughing fit.

"I guess I'll do the same." Shino said, and exited the room with Hinata at his side.

However, Guy sensei was not impressed with his eternal rival. "You think you can gain an unfair advantage by leaving now, don't you, Kakashi!" he yelled. "If that's how you want to play, my squad WILL LEAVE TODAY!"

Guy sprinted out of the room, sending everyone else in another coughing fit.

Tsunade still hadn't gotten used to Guy's behavior during her tenure as Hokage. "Has he always been like that?"

Kakashi couldn't find words to express it. "You would be surprised."

Tsunade turned her attention to Hiashi Hyuga. "I apologize for the interruptions." She said. "We'll have to postpone our discussion until later while I have to get these to the Raikage's office."

Hiashi understood, but the look on his face was disappointment. Not because he was excited about their meeting, but because he just had his time wasted. "I'll expect you'll come to me next time you want to speak." To which Tsunade nodded her head.

Hiashi turned around and walked towards the door, and he stopped by Kakashi's side.

Hiashi never looked at Kakashi, but spoke to him. "If Hinata is anything less than a Chunin after these exams, don't even bother bringing her back."

Kakashi was initially struck by this statement, but remained composed as he replied to Hiashi. He had heard Kurenai speak of his disinterest in his eldest daughter, but Kakashi had no idea that it was true to this extent.

He looked at the side of Hiashi's head. "I'll bring her back as a Chunin, and I'll take care of her. Don't worry about her safety."

Hiashi made no eye contact as he walked for the exit. "I'm not."


	2. Kakashi's Evaluation

**Chapter Two**

**Kakashi's Evaluation**

Kakashi quietly walked with his left hand in his pockets down the dirt road. His right hand was holding the newest book that Jiraiya wrote that he recently purchased, but we wasn't reading. He was thinking of what mess he probably got himself into, being a Jonin for Kurenai's team. The headache wouldn't come from Hinata and Shino, they were mostly quiet for different reasons, but Kiba would be the death of him. The three Genin on his mind were walking behind him. Shino was keeping to himself as he usually does, Hinata was normally silent, and Kiba was playing with his companion Akamaru. Kakshi had something to tell the trio, but it was escaping him as to how to begin conversation. It concerned Shino, because he knew of Kakashi's love for the book's series, but he hadn't turned the page in about a half-hour. Something was deep on Kakashi's mind.

The sun was quickly approaching the top of their heads, and shining through the canopy of the forest in the Land of Fire. They had made great time, approaching the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning before noon.

"Kakashi-Sensei." Shino said, interrupting the train of thought Kakashi was on.

"Yes, Shino?" he asked.

"You're thinking deeply about something and it's bothering me. We aren't even beyond the border." Shino said.

Kakashi stopped walking. Shino froze, Hinata stopped walking and Kiba acted as if someone was attacking the trio. "What's the deal, sensei?"

Kakshi let out a deep sigh. "Well, I'd be lying if there wasn't something on my mind to say to you three, I'm just thinking exactly how to say it."

Kiba didn't like that answer. "Oh just spit it out, Kakashi-Sensei. We can take it."

Kakashi could be seen smiling underneath his mask. "I promise you. You won't like the answer I tell you."

"Oh we can take it!" Kiba exclaimed. Before Kakashi could ask "are you sure?" the entire team leaned in to hear.

Kakashi sighed at what he would be forced to endure from these three. "You three are behind the rest of your classmates, and it's not even close."

They were crushed. They couldn't have been behind their classmates!

"There is no way they're ahead of us! Especially that far!" Kiba yelled.

Kakashi closed his eyes. "There are several areas you're lacking in, and Kurenai hadn't been able to bridge those gaps."

Hinata knew in the back of her mind that other teams appeared to be developing faster than hers. However Kurenai told her this was just her mind taking the "Grass is greener on the other side approach," which Kurenai said to be untrue. However Kakashi was saying this as if it was common knowledge amongst all of the Jonin in the village!

"This can't be!" Kiba yelled.

"I'm going to agree with Kiba on this one." Shino said. "Ino, Shikamaru and Choji are Chunin, and so is Neji, but we are on par with all of them. That includes Naruto and Sasuke as well."

Kakashi continued to speak. "Well, you were on par with your classmates. At the Genin level. However, Lady Tsunade and I are not so sure that you're at the Chunin level quite yet."

Before Shino and Kiba could protest father, Hinata interrupted the each of them. "How, Kakashi-Sensei?" she asked.

Kakashi sighed. "Well Kurenai taught you all the basics of being ninja, but she really just elaborated on techniques that your respective clans initially taught you. You each lack a sufficient level of chakra control, you each lack Chunin-level Nunjutsu outside of your clan's specific techniques, and your lack of team chemistry is a concern."

Hinata knew their team chemistry was a problem! She was just so crushed about how Kakashi-Sensei was just so calm about telling them this. Was this common knowledge in the village? Did Asuma know? Did Guy know? She shuddered at her next question. Did Kurenai-Sensei know this?

Kiba was getting furious. "You can't just go around bad mouthing Kurenai-Sensei!" he yelled as he formed his hands into fists. "She was a great Sensei, and she taught us a whole bunch of stuff! And we're not behind!"

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow. "Really, Kiba?" he took out a Kunai knife and threw it against the trunk of the nearest tree. It was at the highest point of the tree before the trunk split off into its various branches. "Focus your chakra to your feet and climb that tree with no hands. Bring me my knife back."

Kiba accepted the challenge, his anger getting the best of him. "Just watch."

What happened next was pathetic. Kiba took off on a full sprint for the tree, and he hardly made three steps up the tree trunk before he crashed back to the earth. The result infuriated Kakashi. He knew these kids were underdeveloped, but to this extent? He knew Kurenai tried her best, no doubt about it. Yet with her lack of genuine battle experience, that Kakshi, Guy and Asuma were accustomed to on a daily basis, she could only take them so far. It didn't help that she inherited three students from the Leaf's most gifted and proud clans either. Not to mention that they were her first squad to take control of. Ever.

"This is exactly what I meant. If you can't master chakra control you can't even use your clan's jutsu to its full potential. It doesn't matter what your bloodline is, your last name doesn't count for a damn thing in the battlefield. Not only this, has she taught you how to react when a mission turns for the worst?"

He was met with silence, and now his frustration was beginning to show.

"Kiba!" he yelled first. "What happens if Akamaru goes missing? What if he dies?" Akamaru whimpered and sunk to the ground. "What will you do? Could you keep your head level enough to see the mission through to the end? Or will you lose control and forget what you're doing in the first place?"

Kiba rose to his feet, and for the first time in a long time, he was silent.

"Shino!" Kakashi yelled, and threw a kunai knife high in a neighboring tree. "What would you do if the air around you is toxic and you bugs are rendered useless? How would you react if there was an opponent with an armor so strong and thick that your bugs couldn't eat away at? Is your very own Ninjutsu and Taijutsu enough for you to survive?"

Shino looked away from Kakashi. He had no words to offer.

"Hinata!" Hinata was seemingly shaken awake as she put her hands to her lips. Kakashi threw another kunai knife high in the trees. "What if your opponent is a long distance fighter? You can't close the distance between you two. This renders your Gentle Fist useless. What is your next plan of attack? Better yet, Kiba and Shino are dead. Do you know how to react in that situation?"

Hinata's body froze at the thought of Kiba and Shino dead. Just like her two comrades, she offered no words to Kakashi's barrage of questions.

"All three of you need to answer these questions. Not for my knowledge, but for yours. Can you break a Genjutsu? How is your team chemistry? Shino and Kiba, I doubt you know the first thing about the Gentle Fist. Hinata and Shino, what makes Akamaru so special and how can you control him in battle should Kiba die? Kiba and Hinata, how do any of Shino's jutsu works? Do you know how his bugs tend to behave?"

Again, silence only met Kakashi. As he could see the disheartened look on their faces, he realized pointing out their imperfections would only further result in shattering their confidence. He lowered his tone and spoke again. "Look. Kurenai is a good Sensei, it's just a lot that she doesn't know. You were her first squad after all. Think about it from her perspective. She is going to have a child, who is going to train and become a ninja and be faced with death, just as all of us are. Asuma is a high ranking Jonin, and gets the most dangerous missions the village has to offer. She could hear news of his death at any moment. Now you three are faced with a diverse group of ninja all around or above your skill set. Death is probable at every turn. That's why I'm being so hard on you now. So you can return to the village when all of this is over and return to her. But return to her as Chunin."

That last statement struck a chord with the trio in front of him. This seemed to change them. Inspire them. They suddenly saw what Kakashi was trying to teach them.

"Now," Kakashi continued in his speech. "Focus your chakra to your feet and retrieve my kunai."

The three nodded at each other, and sprinted up the trees.

The forest was basked in an orange blanket. Kakashi sat against a rock, happily reading his new novel and turning its pages at a breakneck speed. To his right was Akamaru, playing around with an apple that Kakashi fetched him from one of the nearby trees. Kakashi hadn't paid much attention to the trio of Team Kurenai since he sent them off on the tree climbing exercise hours ago. Every now and then he would hear them fall to the earth, or a cry of "almost had it!"

What did surprise him was that none of them asked for help. This wasn't surprising in Shino or Kiba, who learn moreso by experience, but it was a surprise in Hinata. She was a lot more prideful than she let on, because she hadn't swallowed it and asked for help. Kakashi was ready to set up camp for the night, with the fatigue from all of this traveling finally getting to him. As he closed his book, he looked up and was met with a staggering surprise.

In his face was Hinata, Kiba and Shino. Each of them were bruised and dirty, but each of them had a hand extended to him. To further his surprise, each of those hands had a Kunai knife in it. How did they pick it up so quickly? It took him days to even stick to a tree when he initially went through the exercise. It took Sasuke and Naruto days to get the exercise, and the only person who he saw grasp it so quickly was Sakura. Had they progressed so far as a unit that they were able to assist each other so easily?

"How did-"

Hinata cut him off with a dazzling smile. "We think you misplaced these, so we're bringing them back."


	3. The Hidden Cloud Village

**Chapter Three**

**The Hidden Cloud Village**

Upon walking through the Hidden Cloud Village, Shino realized several things. The first, was that the center of the Hidden Cloud Village operated at a much faster pace than his own village. Everywhere he looked, people rushed around with just a general sense of urgency that he wasn't familiar with. The second thing he noticed was that their path to become a Chunin would not be nearly as easy as he had hoped. He could feel his bugs become more restless the more steps he took through the chilly mountain air. Strong chakras were colliding through the air, and it was at this moment he realized that he felt largely unprepared.

Kakashi Sensei approached the big brown desk on the side of the Raikage's mansion. "Hidden Leaf Jonin Kakashi Hatake."

Shino was broken from his trance. He snapped into reality quickly to see he and his team checking in. Kakashi pulled a folder from his pack and handed it to the woman at the desk. The woman was dark skinned, had red hair, and a blade on her back. The name tag on her shirt read Karui. "The files of Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame." Kakashi presented.

The woman Karui looked over each of these files, and occasionally took a glance at the faces of Hinata, Shino and Kiba. After this persisted for several minutes, she handed Kakashi another folder. "You room is at the Horizon Inn on the next mountain over that way." She shoved a thumb over to Kakashi's left. He said thank you, and they were on their way.

"What was that all about, Kakashi-Sensei?" Kiba asked.

"The Hidden Cloud has stronger security standards than the Leaf has." Kakashi began. "Especially after-"

"Is that Kakashi Hatake of the Leaf!?" the group heard from behind their backs.

They turned to see a male as tall as Kakashi. He was darker skinned than they were, and his hair was snowy white. He had tattoos on his shoulders, and an odd blade strapped to his back.

Kakshi recognized this man. "Darui of the Gale Style."

The two men shook hands. This caught the three Genin off guard, because their hands entwined in more of a manner exclusive to comrades.

As Shino and Hinata were left wondering how they knew each other, Kiba was not one to stick to manners. "How do you two know each other?"

Darui smiled. "Kakashi and I have met on the battlefield many times. I could never seem to kill him. You eventually respect a person you can't seem to bring down."

Kakshi rubbed the back of his head. "You speak too highly of me. You are, after all, the only person that the Raikage allowed to get a lighting tattoo since he took office. Not to mention you are currently the only living person in the world to use the Gale Style."

Darui shook his head. "Well you are right about that." He then turned his head and looked at the trio of Genin behind Kakshi. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon after your last mission. I'm assuming that is your squad and is here for the Chunin Exams."

Kakshi nodded. "They think they're ready to make that leap. It didn't even seem long ago we were in our own selection exams."

Darui let out a hearty laugh. "I still couldn't kill you then, could I?" Kakashi laughed as well. Darui then realized he lost track of time. "Alright, I'm running late for a meeting with the boss." He said, referring to the Raikage. "I'm sure I'll see more of you around."

With that, Kakashi said his goodbyes. However, he hardly took four steps before Hinata felt a strange chill coursing through her body.

She folded her arms and began to hold herself. Her eyes began to fill with water without her control. Her chakra was agitated, and the feeling was far too surreal for her to even believe.

"Hinata, are you feeling ok?" Kakashi asked.

Hinata was too busy shuddering to answer his question. Something was amiss, and Shino seemed to notice it too.

"There's some chakra in the air." Shino said. "I have never seen my bugs this agitated before."

Kiba stopped in his tracks as well, after he saw his dog Akamaru fall to the ground, whimpering.

Hinata began to look around, and she had seen the source of her fears.

Walking towards the registration table was a blue haired youth with glasses on his face. What made her entire soul shatter, was when she made eye contact with the oddly shaped blade he was carrying. Shino's bugs were migrating to all parts of his skin and were reacting in the air violently. Akamaru nearly dug a hole in the ground and tried to hide himself in it. Kiba was the only member of his team not to react to a strange chakra.

"Kakashi-Sensei! What's going on!?" Kiba yelled.

Kakashi eyed the blue haired youth, who was now standing in line at this point. "That kid over there is Chojuro of the Hidden Mist. That chakra Akamaru, Hinata and Shino must feel is the blade on his back; the Hiramekarei. A legendary ninja blade."

Kiba was unconvinced. "Well, what's it do? It looks like a wrapped up fish."

Kakashi shook his head. Kiba was just as clueless about international ninja as the average academy student. "The weapon responds to the users chakra and contorts itself to a shape of the wilders choosing. From what I've heard, it could look like a hammer, or a massive blade."

Kiba remained clueless. "But I don't get it. What is making-"

"Enough of this. Shino! Hinata!" the two stopped their trances and looked up. "We're moving out before you two have a breakdown. Now let's get to the hotel and rest. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

Fortunate to escape the area, the Leaf ninja nearly sprinted across the mountain to the bridge to the next mountain their selected Inn was on. As they crossed from the main mountain to this adjacent mountain, Shino noticed this mountain seemed more relaxed as far as the people and architecture looked. As they wandered around the mountain for twenty minutes, they found the Inn they were supposed to settle into. It was a simple building, looked somewhat comfortable, and appeared to be stationed in a nice section of the mountain. However, someone wasn't exactly keen on sharing the space.

As the team was a few steps away from entering the door, a harsh female voice met their ears.

"Is this all that the Hidden Leaf has? You guys look as sorry as the last group that came through here." They heard.

As everyone expected, Kiba was the first to retort. "Who said that!?"

Then, in front of the door, a woman dropped from the roof and stood before them. Kiba instantly surveyed her. "Tall, short and dark haired, pale, Hidden Stone headband."

"I don't think I stuttered, crayon-face." She snapped.

Kiba made a grunt and prepared the charge at him, and Kakashi stuck his arm out. "She's just sizing you up, Kiba. Calm yourself."

The girl made a harsh laugh. "That's exactly what green bushy-brow said to other green bushy-brow. You leaf ninja really are all the same."

"Say another word and I swear I'll knock your block off!" Kiba challenged.

Just as the girl opened her mouth to speak again, a man wearing red rushed out from the Inn. "Lady Kurotsuchi!" he yelled. "How do you expect Lord Tsuchikage to appoint you as the next Tsuchikage when you're taunting other villages at every turn? Now get inside!"

Kurostuchi slouched and walked inside, leaving the group alone. "I know I'Il be seeing you three again."

"Sure hope I never have to hear her mouth again." Shino mumbled.

Hinata and Kakashi agreed. Kiba however salivated at the chance to see her once more.

….

As the team settled in their comfortable two room Inn, they enjoyed an immense dinner of fish, rice and various other dishes native to not only the Land of Lightning, but the Land of Water and Wind as well. As the team ate their fill, and focused on the upcoming second task, there was an envelope left for them underneath the platter of roasted swordfish. It was noted to Kakashi Hatake. Hinata handed him the letter and he studied the text. When he was done, his jaw fell to the table. Panic quickly overtook the table.

"What happened?"

"Are you ok, Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Sensei?"

Kakashi looked at all three of his Genin with a grave expression.

"There is a one-kilometer obstacle course you'll have to go into and compete with every other squad here."

Kiba swallowed his mouthful of rice. "So it's a footrace?"

Kakashi only looked more grave. "If you make it out the other side alive, you advance. If you're killed, the remainder of the squad goes home."

"Remainder of the squad?" Hinata asked.

Kakashi looked at all three of them. He cleared his throat and then dropped his eyes to the table. "That's the thing. You have to select only one of you to go in."


	4. The First Task

**Chapter Four`**

**The First Task**

A fair skinned woman with blonde hair and a sizable set of breasts approached a pedestal. In front of this pedestal, stood hundreds of ninja. All of them Genin. With a blank expression on her face and a small scroll in her left hand, she handed the text to a massive giant of a man who was standing on top of the pedestal. This massive mountain of muscle was the Fourth Raikage, A.

"There are six Genin from the Hidden Leaf, Lord Raikage. There are fifteen from the Cloud, three from the Grass, three from the Waterfall, six from the Stone. Surprisingly, there are six from the Steam, nine from the Sand and twelve from the Hidden Mist."

The Raikage took the scroll and studied it. "Hmmmmm. Thank you, Samui. That is all."

She bowed to the Raikage, and left her position.

A stood tall amongst the pedestal. "Welcome, ninja of the world. I am A, the Fourth Raikage."

He surveyed the crop of Genin before him. He sighed in disappointment. He just wanted them dead and out of his village. As everyone of the world knows, Raikage A is obsessed with power and stability. After the invasion of the Hidden Leaf village, he felt the security of his village was compromised by allowing so many foreign ninja inside his borders. He also felt his own power was compromised, because he couldn't just smash a person's head through a few walls of a building because, well… they were his walls. He loved the architecture and infrastructure set up of his village, which is why he set up strict laws on maintaining the property of the village. So if one of these Genin decided they wanted to step out of line, he would have to make an effort not to make a mess. That was not how he preferred to eliminate a target.

To make a long story short, the current Raikage was not in the best of moods.

He continued to speak. "It is an honor to have you all here." That was a lie. "I also would like to see you all succeed." That was another lie. "With information on your first task, here is my trusted one of my trusted aides and a Jonin of the village, Samui."

He stepped to the side, and the Genin were all met with the sight of the fairer-skinned woman with blonde hair and sizeable cleavage.

"As I'm sure all of you know, information of the tasks were sent out to your various places of residence around dinner. And they are all true."

The Genin were all giving a collective roar of fear and disapproval. Individually this was low. Nobody wanted to be too vocal.

Samui began to speak again. "One Genin from each squad will have to complete in a one Kilometer obstacle course against the other Genin. If the Genin picked to compete dies, the entire squad is sent home. The first few squads to complete this task will have an advantage for the next task. You are intentionally not being told this number.

"Furthermore, just so Shinobi don't intentionally stand at the starting line to avoid contact, the last few Shinobi will sent home as well. You are also intentionally not being told this number. Also, you'll be locked in a chakra sphere, so there will be no outside help. The course will start at exactly 3pm. Are there any questions?"

The main question on each squad, was "Who will enter this course?" Needless to say, Team Kurenai was not at all confident about the answer to this question.

Within the hour, Kiba Inuzuka readied himself at the starting line. Knowing he was the best fit for this challenge helped to calm his nerves, but only slightly. Hinata was not fast enough for this challenge. Shino's Taijutsu was admittedly low in comparison to the massive competition he would be facing. Kiba's skills were good enough for this challenge. To protect Akamaru, Kiba said he would go through this challenge alone.

He looked to his immediate right, and there was that Chojuro kid. To Kiba's surprise, for someone who was the owner of a legendary blade, he looked incredibly nervous. Kiba looked to his left. Three slots over was Rock Lee. Rock Lee was looking as fiery as ever. The person on Kiba's right was looking as if he didn't care, but not the usual disinterest he saw from people like fellow villagers Shikamaru Nara or Sasuke Uchiha. He was appeared to not care because he was so… confident. The smile on his face said that he was just happy to be here. He was a Stone ninja, was taller than Kiba, and much heavier. He looked like a fat male version of the girl that taunted his team at the Inn yesterday.

Kiba just knew that his plan was to use his Beast Mimicry technique. That way, he had the speed and maneuverability to outrun his competition, and the Taijutsu necessary to fight his way out of a situation.

Even though she could not be seen, the voice of Samui was heard through the course. "Just for reference, if you take a step beyond the start line before I say go, you will be killed on instant. Now!"

"Three!"

Kiba readied himself, and he could hear hundreds of other Genin ready themselves. He could hear the ninja tools being drawn.

"Two!"

Kiba readied his hands to perform the seals. Chojuro next to him drew his blade, and the hefty ninja appeared to still be distant. Kiba could almost smell the scent of human blood amd sweat, and could hear everyone's heartbeat.

"ONE!"

Kiba could literally feel chakra building up from all directions. The air was thick. Heavy. It became harder to breathe. The atmosphere was suffocating.

"BEGIN!"

Hinata, Shino and Kakashi stood outside of the purple wall of a chakra barrier. They were staring at it for the better part of two hours. They could not see on the other side, and they could not hear or even so much as smell anything on the other side. As they waited, they saw more and more ninja emerge victorious in their task.

The first ninja to do so was Rock Lee, with a record time. Rock Lee took his leg weights off at the start of the race, and literally flew by his competition. Might Guy was highly impressed, but Lee drew many dirty looks from the surrounding Genin. The second was a stone ninja, who would have set the record if not for Rock Lee. He went by the name of Akastuchi. He made a stone golem and hid inside of it as the Golem tunneled underground and away from the rest of the Genin en route to the finish line.

However, the Genin to follow have looked nowhere near as well. Several ninja have appeared on the other side of the barrier in victory, but they all were exhausted, bleeding, and some were missing limbs. As the task raged on, each ninja that passed through the barrier looked progressively worse. The most recent ninja to pass the task was a blonde haired female. She had to crawl to the gate, because she was missing a leg. This observation made Kakashi feel as if Kiba had already died. If a girl with one leg passed through the gate before Kiba, then how could Kiba pass at all?

Hinata's nerves steadily became more and more shaken as she saw ninja emerge from the barrier into view. It only made matters worse that none of them were Kiba, and her heart had been moving at twelve beats per second since the task started. She couldn't even fool herself into thinking they even looked like Kiba. Shino admittedly was frightened that Kiba had not returned to them as well. Kiba was chosen because the group felt he could thrive in this type of task. By Kakashi's side, Akamaru was whimpering on the cold ground, feeling terrible that his comrade and best friend had not returned, and even worse because he couldn't smell him.

"Kakshi-Sensei, do you think Kiba is… ok?" Hinata asked, trying to hide the amount of fear in her voice.

Kakashi hung his head. "I'm not sure. Just prepare yourselves for what we might see. The task is over in twenty minutes."

Kakashi closed his eye to Hinata, and looked over his shoulder at Might Guy and his team of Sakura, Lee and TenTen behind him. They each were huddled together and keeping their distance, just as fearful of the young Inuzuka child not returning. While it was Lee's and TenTen's nature to attempt to console Hinata and Shino, Guy-Sensei forbid it while the task was still going on. Death was a natural part of a Shinobi's life, and if Hinata and Shino had to learn in at this time, then let them do so.

Might Guy put his hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Kakashi?"

Kakashi knew what Might Guy was trying to say. "Yeah. I know."

Then, Akamaru stuck his head up in the open air and barked. This surprised the off-guard and sulking Leaf Ninja. Akamaru barked randomly? This was entirely out of character. Did he smell Kiba? He couldn't have. Hinata and Shino would have sensed Kiba's chakra and dashed to the finish line. Akamaru had to have been getting impatient. That was the only explanation.

In an instant, the white haired dog wasted no time in sprinting to the finish line. Watching their partner run away, Hinata and Shino had no choice but to take off after him.

"Akakmaru, you can't go in there!" Hinata beckoned.

"Akamaru stop!" Shino begged.

Akamaru forced his way through crowds of Genin who were all waiting for their respective teammates to cross the finish line, but as Akamaru was dangerously close to entering the barrier, he suddenly stopped his path. He stopped at an object on the ground and began vigorously lick at it. However as Hinata would find out, it wasn't an object. It was a person. And that wasn't just any person. It was a living person, and that person was Kiba Inuzuka.

Kiba was on the ground of the finish line outside of the barrier. Shino then found the answer as to why Akamaru would sense Kiba, yet he and Hinata could not. Akamaru could smell Kiba. Shino and Hinata couldn't sense Kiba's chakra because he hadn't any. Kiba was alive, but barely. His stomach was on the ground, and he used his elbows to crawl his way to the finish line of the task. He had two kunai knives lodged into his lower back, and had three shuriken painfully stuck into arms and the back of his legs. He was bleeding profusely, but he was alive, and he could advance.

"Kiba!" Hinata knelt down to the soft grass with blood staining the green vegetation and screamed at him, with tears in full in her eyes. "Do you have any idea how worried we were!?"

Hinata expected Kiba to snap at her. She expected Kiba to yell back, and she expected Kiba to grunt in pain and tell sarcastically criticize her for him being in that task. She was shocked at Kiba's next action.

Kiba smiled and placed his head onto her lap. "Well you can be as worried as you want to be. We're moving on to the next task." His eyes closed, but the smile remained on his face.


	5. Mountain of Shodai Raikage

**Chapter Five**

**Mountain of ****Shodai Raikage**

Kiba Inuzuka felt as if he was sleeping on a cloud. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be. He was alive, because he could still searing feel pain in his lower back. Unless you die and you travel to the afterlife in the condition that death found you in. He halfway hoped to see a headless man or two. He could have sworn he was in Hinata's lap as he passed on. She wouldn't allow him to die. Would she? Well, she wouldn't if he was Naruto.

Kiba was jarred awake as he felt a thin wet rag of some sort hit the side of his face. He opened his eyes to a furry white canine's tongue covering his face. Kiba knew the odd smell of a hospital. He was not dead. Well- yet at least.

He opened his eyes further and surveyed the room. He was met with seven pairs of eyes belonging to Leaf Ninja.

"Well, we thought we wouldn't see those eyes for a little while." The pink haired ninja before him exclaimed. "Glad to see you pulled through!"

She was surrounded by five other Genin, and they all Leaf Genin all leapt onto Kiba's chest in excitement.

"Oh guys, can't breathe." He mumbled, to which they all laughed happily

In the back of the room stood Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy, the Jonin for these ecstatic young ninja.

"It's glad to have you back amongst the land of the living, Kiba, but we can't afford to celebrate now. Especially since we haven't been active for the past three days and the next test is six days away." Kakashi said.

The six Genin all froze and looked at Kakashi. Kakashi was always one for these types of moments of sentimentality. Now was not that time. They still had a lot of work to do.

"Now, I'm going to need all of you to listen carefully. The next task isn't going to be easy." Kakashi began, and he could sense that he had the undivided attention of all six Genin in the room. "The next task is similar to the Forest of Death that you all saw in the Hidden Leaf."

"Then we shouldn't have that much of a problem with it!" Kiba said as he punched his left fist into his right hand.

Guy sighed and shook his head. "No. Its far more difficult. Far more."

Kakashi resumed his talk. "First, the task is taking place on a mountain with tougher terrain. The altitude will make it harder to breathe. This means the Genin from the Hidden Cloud instantly have an advantage. Not only this, the goal of the task only allows eight squads of the remaining pool of seventy-one to advance."

The air was seemingly sucked out of the room.

"But Kakashi-Sensei…" Rock Lee began. "How could this task take out so many squads at once?"

Kakashi refrained from telling Lee to shut up, because he was about to explain that. "The goal of this task is to obtain a water scroll and a fire scroll. When combined, the text forms into a Summoning Jutsu. At which point a Jonin from the Cloud will give you a map where the final goal is."

TenTen squinted her eyes. "I'm not following how it weeds out so many candidates, Kakashi-Sensei."

Guy stepped in for Kakashi and answered this question. "Well, TenTen. That's an easy answer. There are only eight scrolls of each. Eight Fire scrolls and four Water scrolls are hidden in the mountain and various techniques are required to find and retrieve them. Four of the water scrolls are given to the top four teams who finished in the previous task. Lee, Sakura and TenTen, that means you."

Rock Lee jumped for joy. "Yes! I knew that hard work would pay off Sensei!"

Kakashi and Guy cut their eyes and the jumping bushy-browed ninja. "No, it actually hinders you." Guy said.

Lee stopped his celebrating. "how?" he asked.

Kakashi answered. "In addition to the scroll, you get a fifteen minute head start in the mountain. Because you get a head start in the gate, other teams know exactly who you are. It just makes you more of a target. Since the Water scrolls are fixed in amount and difficult to find, they'll take their chances and come after you first. You won't get far before you're confronted. Not only that, they'll have time to size you up and go for a plan of attack."

Sakura and Ten Ten gulped. In unison, the two Kunoichi. "Oh no…"

"Oh, quit that." Kiba snapped. "They have an advantage, Kakashi-Sensei! What are we supposed to do? Fight everyone we see and hope that they have a scroll or a lead? If it's anything like that last task that's going to be impossible! With all of those chakras colliding Shino and Hinata won't be able to sense themselves! And with the scent of all that blood in the air, Akamaru and I won't be able to even smell them!"

Might Guy offered an answer. "Link up with your fellow Leaf comrades. Strength in numbers is vital!"

Kakashi hung his head. That was a typical plan from his eternal rival. No substance, just a broad idea. "That's unlikely. There are eighty gates sprawled about the base of the biggest mountain in the Land of Lightning. There are only seventy-one teams to fill those gates, so for all we know they could be alone on nearly one side. Unless Shino could manage to use his bugs to track the group."

Shino looked to the floor and shook his head. "Not possible. My bugs would lose track. They wouldn't be able to direct me.

The room was silent. Just then, the violet haired girl thrust herself into the conversation.

"My Byakugan can find them. I'll locate them before they enter the mountain, and we'll rush to their position when we're allowed to enter."

Kakashi was immediately skeptical. "What if they are on the direct opposite of the mountain? Could your Byakugan see that far? Could you maintain focus as you get to them while they also move to safety?"

Hinata wanted to say no. She was entirely unsure. The answer was actually highly unlikely. She then looked at the faces of her teammates for help. Kiba's face was exactly what she imagined to be the same look of worry she gave him three days ago when he emerged from the chakra barrier. Shino looked at her, an Hinata had no idea what his expression was trying to say. To be fair, she had never been able to read Shino's face. Shino took note of this, and he nodded. Sakura and TenTen, her fellow female counterparts were nodding at her abilities and smiling. They were giving her a nonverbal "You got this!" Behind them, Rock Lee flashed her a "thumbs up" and his signature smile, complete with a sparkle of light emanating from his teeth. She took note of how impressive that was, being indoors after all.

Hinata gave confident look at Kakashi-Sensei, a look he had never seen before, a look she never thought she was capable of. "Yes, yes it will."

If one was to say Hinata was more nervous than she ever had been in her life, it would be an understatement. As she stood with Kiba and Shino outside of Gate seventeen, beads of sweat formed on her skin and sprinted down her face ending at her chin and finally falling to the soft green earth at her feet. Nothing Kakashi, Shino or Kiba could say could calm her wildly jumping nerves.

To the left of gate seventeen was gate sixteen. That gate was empty. To their right was eighteen, and that held a trio of Genin. Their headbands said they were from the Hidden Grass. They each looked as nervous as Kiba. On each gate was a digital clock, and this clock displayed the time. The current time was 11:58:44, and the test was scheduled for noon.

"Hinata, are you ready?" Shino asked, careful not to set off the young Hyuga.

Hinata had never contemplating snapping at any of her teammates, but the pressure was getting to her. If she failed, then they were virtually lost.

"I'm fine, Shino." She lied.

"You should probably try to locate them now, because we aren't sure if a barrier will be erect at the start of the task."

She nodded, acknowledging that he was correct. Focusing her chakra, she placed her hands together. Gathering her chakra to her eyes, she cleared her mind in preparation of using her unique visual jutsu.

"Byakugan!" she proclaimed.

The veins and vessels on the sides of her eyes and temples expanded and pulsated as if they appeared to expand and expose themselves from under her skin. She scoured the base of the mountain for the familiar chakra signatures of Sakura, TenTen or Rock Lee.

Initially, she saw nothing. No chakra, nothing. Then, she focused her vision more. As she did this, she then knew exactly how big the mountain was. This mountain was massive, it was even bigger than Guy-Sensei said it was. She could begin to see the faintness of chakra from the other side, but it the finer she tried to make them seem, the more her eyes began to feel pain.

"Anything yet, Hinata?" Shino asked.

"We have thirty seconds left, Hinata." Kiba ordered. "We don't have much more time left."

Hinata's eyes began to tear up due to the pain, and she hardly had seen through half of the mountain. However she had less than thirty seconds left. She pushed her visual jutsu to her absolute limit. Her mind told her to give up, and her eyelids were squinting from pain. The chakra networks of ninja on the other side of the base were visible. Now she just had to find one. Find a specific one. Just one.

She searched frantically through each and every ninja on the other side of the mountain.

"Hinata!" Kiba roared in panic. "Ten seconds!"

As soon as Kiba's statement finished, a stream of blood rushed from Hinata's eyes to her cheek.

She frantically jumped from person to person. She was looking for three signatures out of a pool of at least sixty ninja in front of her. Her left eye began to stream blood down her face.

"HINATA!" Kiba screamed.

Hinata felt as if every blood vessel in her left eye had broken open. She scanned the cords of chakra as fast as she could, her heart was racing as fast as she had ever felt.

"I FOUND SAKURA!" Hinata screamed.

Shino and Kiba flinched.

Hinata locked in on Sakura's chakra, that bubblegum pink aura full in her retinas.

They're five kilometers to the West, slightly north! Eleven groups are between us!"

With a loud bang, the time became noon, and the gates opened for a select few Genin. Hinata's Byakugan faded, the veins in her head retreated to their normal size, and the blood stopped flowing from her eyes. She fell to the ground, clutching her eye in pain.

"Hinata!" Kiba fell to his knees and placed his hand on her back. "Hinata! Are you okay!?"

Hinata was wiping blood from her face. While she was still in pain from what she had done, she had never been more proud of herself.

"Alright." Shino said. "We'll know where to go in fifteen minutes. They won't get too far. We'll be able to move in soon."

Kiba and Akamaru helped Hinata to her feet, as she was still wiping smears of blood off of her face.

"I'm fine, Kiba. Thanks." She said.

Kiba grinned. "Glad to hear. Now, all we have to do is.-

The moment Kiba opened his mouth, the gate in front of them flew open. How was this happening? They were supposed to have fifteen minutes!

"What is this!?" Kiba yelled.

"The gate is now open!" Shino yelled. "We can't be wasting time thinking about why!"

The team nodded, and unsurely charged into the open gate.

The instant they entered their gate and arrived at the basement of the mountain, they knew for sure it was nothing like the Forest of Death they had been in years prior. While they were sure they were on the mountain itself, they hardly felt an incline in the ground to eventually lead to the summit. This only proved the mountain was every bit as massive as Kakashi said it was, and that Guy wasn't exaggerating either. Immediately, they found this terrain far more difficult to navigate. The trees were very close together, not allowing a lot of linear movement. The ground was muddy and didn't allow for stable footing, and the humidity was all most too much to bear. The humidity was what got to the team faster than anything though, simply because the entire squad was too attached to their thick jackets.

"That was hardly fifteen minutes!" Kiba yelled, ducking under a large branch and continuing move West. "That wasn't nearly five minutes!"

Hinata put on her best Kurenai-Sensei impression. "A ninja must always see through deception!"

Trudging through the terrain, the other two members of her team laughed, and their path continued.

Shino began to formulate a plan. Soon, plenty of other ninja would be closing in on their initial targets. "Ok so how do you think we should start the-"

Kiba cut him off. "Shino, duck!"

Shino lowered his body and Kiba threw a Kunai knife in his direction. The weapon traveled in the dark distance and faded from view.

"Kiba! What was that!?" Hinata yelled, removing her food from a pit of mud.

Kiba seemed to ignore her. He kept surveying the area in front and behind them. His nostrils were flaring. Something was amiss.

"Hinata! Move!" Kiba yelled.

Hinata fell to the ground, and Kiba threw several shuriken to his immediate right. They all faded from view but could be heard striking the trunk of a tree.

"KIBA! WHAT IS GOING ON!?" Shino yelled, losing his composure at a rapid pace. If there is one thing Shino hates, it's not knowing what's going on.

Suddenly, Kiba stopped his movements. He stood still, and began to look at every angle he could, but he looked frustrated and downtrodden as he did so.

"Kiba!" Hinata said as she stopped her path as well and looked at her teammate.

Kiba breathed heavily. "We're surrounded. It was an ambush and we walked right into it."

"How could you tell?" Hinata asked.

Kiba continued to look around the area. "I smelled their chakra flare up to get us. I smell six of them in all."

A cool female voice stood out from the chaos. "Well, we have a sensory type ninja here."

The three drew their weapons in preparation to fight. Who was that? Where did the voice come from?

The female was from the Hidden Sand as she came into view directly in front of the trio. "You would have been useful. Go!"

The first two ninja rushed for Shino before Akamaru, Kiba and Hinata realized he was under attack. He never even had a chance. The ninja sprinted to him and delivered a swift kick to the chest. A second capitalized with a right hook to Shino's jaw, and then a knee to his face. The first then punched Shino in the gut, and the second then kicked him in the chest again, sending him flying into the nearest tree trunk. Shino then fell unconscious.

"Shino!" Hinata yelled.

Before Hinata could even comprehend what was about to happen next, several chakra threads wrapped themselves around her. They surrounded her from the neck down, and restricted all movement. The more she struggled in trying to remove them, the more they dug uncomfortably into her skin.

"Agh! Kiba! Help!"

This went unnoticed by Kiba, and turned around to see his comrade, lighting chakra was fed through the lines. Lightning sparks were sent coursing through every fiber of Hinata's being. Her screams we blood curdling, they were loud enough to burst an eardrum. Soon, she fell unconscious, and fell to the ground. When the attack ceased, Hinata was left on the ground, unconscious. The person responsible for this attack then used the lines to pick her up and toss her aside, hitting the same tree that Shino did moments prior, and landed next to him.

"NO! Hinata!" Kiba yelled, turning his head to see her. As it turns out, that quick division of attention would cost him.

The female who appeared to him before this assault happened, grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. Kiba struggled to breathe, but he had enough air in his lungs to bark out one order.

"Akamaru!" he gasped.

Akamaru prepared to attack the girl with his tunneling fang, but this attack went unsuccessful. The moment the white canine took his feet off of the ground to gain enough rotation and momentum to attack, chakra threads from five Shinobi wrapped around the dog. Whimpers from the dog could be heard echoing through the jungle.

"Let him…go!" Kiba ordered.

The woman smiled. "We'll leave him alive. But hey, as long as you got something to trade you'll see the mutt again."

"What… did you just.. call him!?" Kiba struggled to say.

The woman's eyes flared into a dark green, and Kiba's struggle stopped. He was under a powerful Genjutusu. He fell to his knees, and the last thing he saw was his partner being hauled off into the dark distance.


	6. Kiba's Challenge The Retreival

**Chapter Six**

**Kiba's Challenge; The Retrieval**

Kiba Inuzuka was under a Genjutsu, and was dreaming of being tied to a post and beaten in his legs for the better part of an hour. So when Rock Lee agitated his chakra and woke him up, the young Inuzuka was nothing short of eternally grateful.

"Are you ok, Kiba?" Rock Lee asked, nursing his friend and comrade to consciousness.

Kiba couldn't shake off the massive headache that normally follows after a Genjutsu of that level, not to mention he did not yet have full control over all of his muscles. "I'm fine." He grumbled. "How did you all find us?"

Kiba looked around and saw TenTen helping Shino to his feet, and Sakura working with Hinata.

Sakura was going through a physical test of Hinata's muscle control, as most ninja lose muscle control for extended periods of time after being exposed to Lightning element chakra. Especially in Hinata's case, where she still had to further risk her life in continuing with the Chunin exams.

"It's a simple explanation really." Sakura said, looking at a scroll. "Hinata, raise your right hand and place it to your left ear." Hinata did as she was instructed. "Well Kiba, Kakashi sensei let us borrow a ninja hound for the beginning of the exam, and that's how we found you. Hinata, left hand on your right big toe."

Kiba watched Hinata, but was still unconvinced. "How?" he asked. "There is no way he could have tracked us by scent! Not with all of this blood in the air! And this disgusting jungle odor!"

TenTen and Shino rose to their feet as she helped him dust off his jacket. "Oh, you must be thinking of Pakkun! No, this was a different dog. This one had the 'Shinobi' mark on his head, he had light brown fur, looooong droopy ears." She said. "I think his name was Bisuke."

That still doesn't explain how you found us." He mumbled.

TenTen ignored the agitation in Kiba's voice. "Well, Kiba. Kakashi-Sensei was planning on Hinata finding out where we were. So we all held onto him and waited until Hinata sensed one of us. Then he could feel Hinata's chakra stare at us. So this ninja hound was able to hold the scent of her chakra, as opposed to her physical scent."

Kiba nodded. "Then again, that does make sense."

Lee chimed in. "Yeah, you guys walked into quite the ambush. Speaking of hounds, where's Akamaru?"

Kiba's eyes widened, and the look on his face was pure anger. Lee could feel the fury radiating off the young Shinobi.

"That woman took him away from me! They're holding him!" Kiba said as he rose to his feet, sticking his nose to the air.

Shino flinched. "They know we have no scroll. They probably want us to trade something for him. Food. Weapons. Intel."

Kiba focused more chakra to his nose. Why couldn't he locate the scent of his partner? Akamaru's scent was always so engrained into his memory he never had trouble locating it, even if Kiba was out of the village without him for whatever reason. So why was it suddenly so hard now?

"Shino is right, Kiba." Hinata mumbled. "It's another ambush waiting for us."

Kiba snapped. "So what am I supposed to do!? Just sit here while they torture him!?"

Shino fired back. "Calm down, Kiba. He is in no danger at the moment. They want us to bring him something of value in exchange for him. They won't harm him until then."

"We don't know that!" Kiba screamed, walking angrily towards Shino. "We're supposed to just leave him there to die when we don't show up!?"

Shino's words were not affecting the furious hound user. "Kiba, this is exactly what Kakashi-Sensei was talking about. You have to keep your head clear and focus if Akamaru is missing."

Kiba grabbed Shino by the collar of his jacket. "I know what he said! And I'm not going to sell out Akamaru!"

Kiba threw Shino backwards and walked away. He caught a whiff of Akamaru's scent. It was incredibly faint, but it was still there. "Hinata, are you coming or not?"

Hinata's heart stopped and her eyes widened. How was she to choose!? She, like Kiba, didn't want to leave Akamaru. Yet she couldn't allow herself to fall for such an obvious trap. This wasn't fair! How could he put her in such a difficult spot! Neither of her choices would allow her any peace! One wouldn't allow her to sleep at night, and the other would put her to sleep permanently.

As her mind raced and struggled to find a choice, her hands made their way to her lips in defense. "Kiba…" she managed to whisper.

Kiba yelled at her. "Are you coming or not!?" he yelled.

"Whoa! Calm it down a second, Kiba! You're not being fair!" TenTen yelled.

Kiba snarled. "But what-"

"How about we all go?" Rock Lee suggested.

Kiba looked at all five of the other Leaf ninja in the clearing. They each nodded at Lee's suggestion. It was too risky to go alone, but as a group? Success was almost guaranteed.

Shino walked towards his comrade and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Lead the way Kiba."

The terrain proved more difficult the further up the mountain they moved. While they realized their slight incline, their movements took to the dense trees. Being Leaf ninja, this part proved easier due to their extensive use of the tree climbing exercises.

"How much further, Kiba?" TenTen asked.

"Not much further. We're approaching them." He said, sprinting through branches.

Sakura posed the next question. "What is the plan of attack, Kiba?" she asked.

"That is the plan!" he yelled, defiantly. "ATTACK!"

Kiba exploded into the forest clearing, rotating through the clearing. "FANG OVER FANG!" He rotated and became a blur of grey and charged right into the chest of the first Sand ninja he saw. It just happened to be a female, and she was flown backwards, creating a crater-like hole in the nearest tree trunk.

"What was that!?" A sand ninja yelled.

"It's the Leaf ninja!"

"They brought reinforcements!"

Sakura was next and chose her target. She picked a panicking Sand ninja male and delivered a hard punch to the side of his face and slammed him several meters into the ground. TenTen and Lee followed suit, and both delivered a devastating barrage of blows to the bodies of two more Sand ninja, knocking them both unconscious. Hinata was next, and picked the next Sand female. This ninja was ready for an attack, and as such began to defend herself from several of Hinata's initial blows. However she didn't get far, as the Gentle Fist style of the Hyuga hit several of her chakra points. As her defense began to get sluggish, Hinata capitalized by three strikes to the chest and neck of her opponent, sending her to the ground in defeat.

However, Shino was not as lucky as the other five Leaf ninja. Shino pulled a Kunai knife on the leader of this pack, the same Sand ninja that cast a Genjutsu on Kiba earlier. The woman cast a Genjutsu as he leapt from the trees to attack, and he fell under it before he even had a chance to get the correct grip on his Kunai. He fell to the ground and without hesitation, she grabbed the knife from his motionless arm.

"One down!" she proclaimed.

She brought the knife high above her head, and brought it down to drive through Shino's chest. Her attack never connected. Before the knife even reached within a meter of Shino's body, the Sand Kunoichi received several shuriken in her back. She screamed loudly, and then fell to her knees. Then the ground. Sakura ran over to Shino and agitated his chakra to wake him, and that's when she realized who threw the shuriken and killed the Sand Kunoichi. The air was sucked from her lungs.

The attack was from Hinata Hyuga.

Hinata stood there in almost a trance. She stood in perfect from as ninja look when they throw shuriken in training exercises, too stunned to move. Her eyes were as wide as they have ever been. Tears were beginning to form at her eyes. She still had not broken form. Sakura then looked at Hinata's body language and her eyes widened as well.

Hinata had just killed for the first time.

"Hinata?" Sakura said, trying to get something to reach Hinata's mind.

Hinata was broken from her trance, and fell to her knees. She held herself in her own arms and began sobbing. She tried to hide her face from her counterparts.

"Hinata!" TenTen said, falling her knees in trying to comfort one of her best friends. "Are you okay?"

Ordinarily, Kiba would have dropped behind to check on her, but he had Akamaru on his mind. "Lee!" he bellowed.

"Yes, Kiba?" Lee said, burning in his youth.

"I smell Akamaru coming from the trees right above us! Let's scatter!" he said.

Rock Lee saluted with fire in his eyes. "ROGER!"

The two dashed upwards from tree to tree and looked for Akamaru. Within seconds of entering the dense vegetation, the two could hear the whimpers of the snowy white hound. They found the source, and saw Akamaru tied to the tree trunk, in a makeshift cage of sticks. Kiba wasted no time in dashing to his comrade, and clearing the sticks out of his way in giving the hound a huge embrace. Kiba hugged his lifelong partner as tightly as he ever remembered doing.

"I missed you, buddy." Kiba said, holding back a tear in his eyes.

Lee, Akamaru and Kiba dropped to the ground of the jungle. They were met with the rest of the Leaf Shinobi.

"Hinata, are you ok?" Kiba and Lee asked in unison.

Hinata was still clearly shaken, and flanked by Saukra on her left, and TenTen on her right. "I'm fine, Kiba." She faked a grin. "It's the nature of us being Shinobi."

"Alright, thank you guys for- wait. Where's Shino?" Kiba asked.

Shino's muffled voice was over in the distance. "Finding a fire scroll."

Everyone gasped as Shino walked over to the huddled group.

"No way!" TenTen said as she checked her pocket and revealed her own water scroll.

"Wow. I had no idea that they would have acquired a scroll by now." Sakura said.

"All right!" Kiba said. "All we've gotta do is find us a water scroll!"

Shino shook his head. "No, Kiba. We're back at square one."

"What do you mean!?" Kiba asked, his hostility taking over again.

"This scroll does not belong to us." Shino said. "This is for you."

Shino offered the scroll to TenTen by pointing it to her chest. She took it from his grasp, still unsure about what was going on.

"But why!?" Kiba asked.

"Don't be ignorant, Kiba." Shino snapped. "They ignored their main mission to help our retrieval mission. Now their task is over, and it would be wrong for us to take the spoils of the battle. Now this is where we part ways."

Sakura seemed unsure. "Are you sure we have to separate now? I mean, the whole plan was for us all to get together."

Shino nodded. "Yes. We can't be allowed to hold you down, especially that now having both scrolls makes you walking targets."

Lee bowed his head. "You have an outstanding moral fiber, Shino!"

Shino walked to his own squad. "No problem. Let's move Hinata! Kiba!"

"You guys be careful!" TenTen said. "And don't be reckless!"

"We'll see you on the victors side of this test!" Lee said.

"Good luck!" Sakura said.

"We will be careful, thank you so much!" Hinata smiled.

"Get ready to see us on the other side!" Kiba said.

The two squads then sprinted off into their own separate directions.


	7. Hinata's Affinity

**Chapter Seven**

**Hinata's Affinity**

Shino trudged carefully although very difficultly through the muddy terrain. As far as he could tell, they had yet to make a true advance up the mountain. Not only this, they were moving in a swamp of some sort. This part was a lot more humid than the parts they previously were at. Just how big was this mountain to where it had several different environments? A jungle and now a swamp? Were they going to see a desert as well?

"Guys, it's almost sunset. I think we need to set up camp for the night." Hinata said, exhaustion clearly in her voice.

Hinata was clearly not in the state of body and mind to be traveling. Her body had still had the feeling of lighting chakra coursing through it, and she had not still yet regained comfortable control of all of her muscles. What made her feel worse is how vulnerable she felt she was. Her eyes were still in a considerable amount of pain from pushing her Byakugan and causing bleeding hours ago. Without her unique ocular jutsu, there was no Gentle Fist style. Without those two attacks, she was rendered powerless.

Shino wanted to agree. "Alright, Hinata." He agreed. "We just need to find some good ground to settle on."

"We could just use these trees." Hinata said.

Kiba wasted no time in giving his resistance to her proposition. "Not with what Akamaru just went through! No trees!" His partner howled in agreement.

"We'll have to get out of this swamp first." Shino said. "Hinata, how are your eyes?"

Hinata knew what he was about to ask. Her eyes did not feel ready to accomplish the task he was sure to make her complete. Yet she knew she was the only one capable. Shino had pushed her into a corner.

"They're fine, Shino. What do you need?" she asked.

"I need you to use your Byakugan and look directly below me." Shino said.

Kiba and Hinata both had a look of confusion on their faces. "What?"

"Do I really need to ask again?" he said. "Something is underneath me. Can you take a look?"

Hinata was relieved that was all he needed. This was something her eyes could manage. "Yes." Focusing her chakra to her eyes, she prepared herself for the pain that was sure to follow with her ocular jutsu. "Byakugan!"

The outside world faded to a color of grey, and she could see the blue aura's of chakra emanating from Kiba and Shino. She averted her eyes to look exactly below Shino, as far as her eyes could go. Her eyes had not hurt as much as she expected, but the pain was still present. The slowly eased herself into looking deep below the surface. Five meters, ten meters, fifteen meters…

"I've got something!" she yelled.

Kiba's eyes got wide. "Are you serious!?"

"Directly underneath Shino, it's a scroll!" she said. "It's giving off chakra!"

"Waaahooo!" Kiba yelled, leaping in the air. "Let's get digging Akamaru!"

Kiba and Akamaru knocked Shino at least a mile away from where he was standing and the two started digging faster than humanly possible. Shino crash landed next to Hinata, and the two exchanged glances at Kiba's unnatural enthusiasm.

"I hate when they get like this." Shino said, brushing the dirt off of his coat as he rose to his feet.

Hinata shuddered at the duo attacking the mud. "That can't be healthy."

Within seconds, the two disappeared underneath the earth, but their digging could still be heard.

Shino looked at the watch on his right arm. "Four… three… two… one…"

Hinata looked puzzled. "What are you-"

With a thud that could be heard for miles, Kiba and Akamaru were thrust miles into the sky and crash landed directly in front of Shino and Hinata. Kiba wasted no time in getting to his feet and yelling at Shino. "SHINO! What the heck was that!?"

Shino hung and shook his head. "You or Akamaru should have sensed it. The scrolls have a chakra nature and a heck of a strong one, at that."

"You wait until now to tell us!" Kiba screamed.

"I was free-falling from sixty meters, Kiba." Shino sighed as he opened his pack and pulled out three squares of small, light brown paper.

"What are those, Shino?" Hinata asked.

"These are chakra-sensitive papers that Kakashi-Sensei gave me. Since everyone's chakra tends to have an affinity towards one of the elements, feeding chakra into this paper tells you what exactly that is."

Kiba wasted no time in snatching one from Shino's hands. "Gimme that!" Kiba closed his eyes and focused his chakra into the paper. To everyone's surprise, nothing happened.

"What!? I don't have one! Can't be! The stupid paper is broken or something!" Kiba screamed.

Shino held the paper in his left hand and shoved it into Kiba's face. The paper crumbled. "My element is Earth, and as you can clearly see, there is nothing wrong with the paper."

"Then why don't I have one!?" Kiba yelled in frustration.

"It's okay, Kiba." Hinata mumbled, pleading for the young ninja-hound user to calm himself. "A lot of ninja of the Leaf don't have a chakra nature. Like Lady Tsunade, and Sakura and…"

Shino continued. "And Shikaku Nara. And Iruka-Sensei."

Kiba folded his arms and shrugged. Akamaru really didn't understand what was going on, so he sat and stared at the trio of Leaf Shinobi.

"Now, the reason I noticed it was there because it agitated my chakra. My bugs didn't take too kindly to it." Shino explained.

"So that means that the chakra nature of the scroll is… what exactly?" Kiba said.

"My bugs say that it's fire." He answered. "My earth nature won't do too much against it."

Both boys focused on Hinata. Shino looked at the young woman who was hiding behind her hands again. "Hinata, you need to have a Water chakra nature to be superior to it in order to hold it for the mission."

Hinata had the air sucked out of her lungs. "What, Shino! That's what we're asking!? The Hyuga hardly ever have a chakra nature!"

Kiba sighed. "She does have a point. Neji told us that he didn't have one, nor did his father, not that it really mattered to their style of fighting. And not only that, the only other Water natures in the village are Lady Shizune and Guy-Sensei."

Shino nodded. "Not to mention Aoba-Sensei, Choji and Shikamaru."

Hinata was about to further protest. Not only do the Hyuga have a chakra nature only roughly once every five generations, she had a one in six chance of having one that was necessary for the task to be completed.

"We'll have to see." Shino said. "It is a slim chance, but we have to give it an attempt. If not, then we just cut our losses and move on."

Shino handed Hinata the paper and her heart felt as if it was about to leap out of her chest. Not only was she needed to have a chakra nature, she needed to have the second-rarest in her village!?

"Relax, Hinata." Shino asked.

Hinata held the smooth paper in her hands. "Alright. Here goes." She thought to herself. She focused and poured almost all of her chakra into the paper. The trio watched and waited, and with a grunt from her, they looked at the result of the paper.

The paper then turned wet and was soggy and fell apart to the mud beneath her feet. Her chakra nature was water.

"Alright, Hinata!" Kiba yelled.

Shino grinned. "And we're in business. Alright Hinata, you're the only one who can retrieve the scroll Kiba and Akamaru dug into. We'll keep watch."

Hinata could not have been happier. "Alright!"

With no hesitation, she climbed down the hole and began focusing chakra to her hand. With no problem at all, she picked up a red scroll with the red colored symbol for "fire" on its side. Quickly returning to the surface she proclaimed proudly, "I got it!"

"Awesome!" Kiba yelled.

"Phase one, complete." Shino mumbled.

Suddenly, hell broke loose.

The ground and mud beneath them shook, and began to rise. It rose and formed. It was shifting. It was taking form. There was no question this was someone else's doing. They were caught in a trap, again.

"Well, thank you." The trio heard.

The earth stopped rising, and the earth that took form had shape into five Stone Golems. Each of the Golems towered over the ninja, making the Leaf Shinobi appear to be dwarves in comparison.

"Show yourself!" Kiba screamed.

"No problem." They heard again, only this time, Hinata recognized the voice.

There was a jet-black haired girl in red and she jumped from the trees. She was flanked by her two male comrades, and those two were flanked by five Giant Stone Golems.

"You're Kurostuchi of the Stone!" Hinata stated.

Kiba gritted his teeth. "And the same girl who taunted us outside of the hotel last week."

Shino kept his composure. "And the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, and apparently the heir to that position as well."

Kurostuchi smiled.

"Well I'm glad you've heard so much of me. Now let me make this easy for you." She stretched her right arm towards Hinata. "Give me the scroll."


	8. Shino's Challenge The Wager

**Chapter Eight**

**Shino's Challenge; The Wager!**

Kurotsuchi stretched her right arm towards Hinata. "Give me the scroll."

Hinata clutched the scroll as tightly as she could and held it as close to her chest as possible. The look of determination on the young Hyuga's face was enough to answer Kurotsuchi's question.

"What does it matter to you?" Shino asked. "If memory serves me correctly, you should have a water scroll already."

Kurotsuchi glared at Shino. "That's true. But we figured since we already have two fire scrolls and one water scroll, we'd go ahead and eliminate a whole team altogether. It would make the next test a hell of a lot easier."

Hinata unconsciously took a step backwards. They must be good to make such a claim. Focusing her eyes, she could see that the Golems had a lot of chakra built inside them, and must have taken even more to make. Yet the three Stone ninja she was standing in front of had plenty of chakra left.

"Just leave us! We earned this!" Kiba yelled. "You don't need another one, now just beat it!"

Hinata got wide-eyed when she realized what was happening. She _did_ just earn this scroll, and since it was covered in fire, she was the only one with a water chakra affinity. Which means that Hinata was the only one in this area who could touch it.

"I see that all of the Stone Golems look different and seem to favor each of you Stone ninja, they are the work or all three of you collectively." Hinata stated. "That is a high level Earth-style Ninjutsu, and that has to mean all of your chakra natures are Earth!"

"Yeah…" Kiba said, as he understood exactly what Hinata meant. "You couldn't touch this even if you wanted to!"

Kurotsuchi ran her left hand through her hair. "Check out the brains on hair girl and paint-face."

The tall chubby one named Akatsuchi laughed. "Originally, we thought so too. But we then thought about it. If our chakra nature is superior to whatever affinity the scroll has, then wouldn't that cancel the scroll's chakra nature out? Not only that, I don't sense that she's still focusing chakra to her hands. So my hypothesis looks to be correct."

Hinata shuddered. He was right. Shortly after her cancelling of the scroll's chakra, it vanished so she no longer needed to focus her chakra to hold the scroll. The thought of the Stone male being correct made her clutch the scroll in both of her hands even tighter. Not only that, he was a sensory-type. There was no mistaking it anymore. These weren't just ordinary Genin.

Kurotsuchi extended her hand to Hinata again. "I won't ask again. Just give me the scroll."

Hinata backed away from Kurotsuchi. "No." she said, full of defiance.

Shino however, had an idea. "We'll fight you for that fire scroll."

Kurotsuchi smiled and punched the palm of her left hand with her right fist. "Now you're speaking my language, glasses-guy!"

Hinata and Kiba looked at Shino. Shino never jumps the gun like that. Shino had to have had a plan of some sort. However Shino was standing in front of Hinata and Kiba, so there was no way he would have been able to convey a plan through facial expression. This was assuming that Shino actually _made_ facial expressions.

Shino focused his eyes on Kurotsuchi, who he marked as their leader. "If we win, that fire scroll is ours. If you win, then we'll turn over the water scroll."

Kurotsuchi grinned an evil grin. "Alright, deal. But you don't look worthy of my own time, so I'll let these Stone Golems play with you a little bit!"

Kurotsuchi made the Earth-style snake seal, and all five of the Stone Golems looked to be under her control. They each took a step forward, and each sprinted for Shino.

"Shino!" Hinata and Kiba screamed in fear.

Shino smiled from underneath his cloak. "That is exactly what I'd thought you'd say." He clapped his hands together. "Insect Jutsu; Tunneling Beetle Army!"

Instantly, all five of the Stone Golems imploded and collapsed. Their parts all fell to the sticky mud that all of the Genin stood on. In hardly three seconds, the golems that looked threatening were nothing more than harmless stones at Shino's feet. Kurotsuchi was mildly impressed.

Shino held his left arm above his head, and thousands of bugs flew to his hand. "I knew you'd feel far too above our level to want to battle us directly and risk putting yourself in harm's way. Especially considering, the off chance you figured that we were actually good. I sent by my bugs through the ground to tunnel through your Stone Golems and eat at their chakra, so by the time they were under your control, they would be full of holes and devoid of chakra."

Akatsuchi nodded. "And since it was happening so slow, we wouldn't notice until we moved them. Nice work."

Kurotsuchi grinned. "Very nice, yes. But those weren't the Golems I was referring to."

Shino was glad that he normally wore glasses, because his eyes were so wide that Kurotsuchi would have taunted his life away.

"What!?" Kiba asked. "No way!"

Kurotsuchi's ego could not have appeared to by any bigger. "Yes, dog-boy. Way."

The entire jungle shook underneath the two trios, however the trio of stone ninja looked nowhere near as worried as Team Kurenai was.

"What's happening?" Hinata asked.

"If it wasn't for that wager Shino just made, I wouldn't be sticking around to find out!" Kiba yelled amongst the chaos, while Akamaru sunk to the muddy ground and cowered in fear.

Kurotsuchi made six hand seals at a blistering speed. "Earth Style, Giant Golem Jutsu!"

From underneath the muddy terrain, up came a Stone Golem. When she said "giant", she was not making an exaggeration. This Stone Golem was at least three times the size of the several that preceded it. It's body was wider than its predecessors as well. While the previous Stone Golems looked to be strong with a few slight imperfections in their armor with minor cracks and dents, this one's body looked seamless and impenetrable. With a mighty slam of its hand on the ground, it gave a hearty roar and shook the trees in the dark swamp.

"THIS was the Golem I was referring to!" Kurotsuchi bellowed, standing safely at the head of the Golem, which towered above the ninja on the ground.

"This can't be real!" Kiba said, in awe at the size of the Golem.

Shino was wondering exactly how many bugs it would take to lessen the power of the Golem. "Hinata, does this thing have chakra points?"

Hinata was far too focused on the Stone Golem to worry about the pain still lingering in her eyes. The veins leading to her eyes expanded, and her eyes fixated on the enormous opponent in front of her. "No chakra points. It has an even consistency throughout. It almost looked as it has its own chakra network!"

Kiba looked at Hinata with a mix of fear and anger in his eyes. "How can it have it's own network!?

Shino scoffed. "So it can shift its chakra to its more vulnerable points as we try to attack it. She's good."

Kiba and Akamaru gritted their teeth at it. "Akamaru and I can tear right through it!"

Kiba readied the hand seals for his Beast Mimicry technique, but was stopped by Shino before he could finish. "Not without my bugs surrounding you, you don't."

Kiba took offense. "So you're saying that I'm weak!?"

Shino formulated his plan. "No. The last set of Golems had specific parts where its chakra was concentrated. This one doesn't, so it is also safe to assume that she can shift the concentration of the chakra as she deems necessary."

"So you're saying that she can strengthen the armor to my point of attack?"

Shino nodded. "Exactly."

Hinata was suddenly confused. "But you said, don't go without your bugs."

Shino's bugs suddenly flew from his body into the humid air. "With my bugs surrounding Akamaru and Kiba, they'll eat at it's chakra so the Fang over Fang would be able to break through its stone body."

Hinata understood. "I think I get it."

"However, this is where you come in Hinata." Shino said.

Hinata and Kiba both gasped.

"As Kiba and I combine our attacks, there will be a flow of chakra at our point of attack, meaning it draws chakra away from other spots. You'll be able to see its specific spots, and be able to hit it more efficiently than Kiba or I can. You will have to see this spot of chakra, and hit it there."

Kiba and Akamaru readied their stances to do their ultimate technique. Hinata's Byakugan activated once more, and the bugs around Shino began to organize themselves.

"GO!" Shino yelled.

Kiba and Akamaru sprinted as fast as their legs would allow. "Let's go Akamaru! Ninja Art! Fang Over Fang!"

Shino pointed his entire arm towards the Kurotsuchi and her giant golem. "Ninja Art, Beetle Sphere!"

Akamaru and Kiba spun so fast they both eventually they came to appear as a spinning oval of grey matter. The Stone Golem saw the attack, and moved its enormous left hand to counter this attack. At this same time, Shino's bugs formed and shaped around Kiba and Akamaru and moved equally as fast into the moving hand of the golem. The three moving parts clashed and shook the immediate area and sent a howling wind through the forest.

Hinata took advantage of this collision to find the weakest spot of the Stone Golem, and to her surprise it was the head of the Golem itself, right where Kurotsuchi stood. Shino had predicted correctly, as the Golem could shift the concentration of its chakra to wherever it needed to go.

"I should be able to attack it before she can respond!"

Hinata dashed towards the golem, and focused her chakra to her feet as she ran up the leg of the golem. She made a mental note to thank Kakashi-Sensei when she made it out for teaching her the tree climbing exercise of chakra control.

"Here's my chance!" she proclaimed.

She sprinted up the chest of the golem and concentrated her chakra at her hands as she continued to focus on the head of the golem. The chakra around each of her hands began to appear. Not only did it appear, it began to change shape. It shifted around her forearms and appeared in the form of two lion heads. With all of her might, she prepared her strike. She could now see the whites of Kurotsuchi's eyes her target was in range.

"Gentle Step! Twin Lion Fists!"

Kurotsuchi smiled and folded her arms. "Earth Style, Mud Tongue."

Hinata's attack never connected. The Stone Golem opened its mouth and sticky brown mud wrapped itself around the right leg of Hinata as if it was a snakes tongue.

Shino looked in the air at Hinata's peril. "Hinata!"

This distraction would cost the team.

His concentration broke, and as such the rate that his pried insects were eating at the chakra of the Stone Golem had decreased. This fraction of a second cost Kiba as well. The Stone Golem took its chance of it having the advantage and took Kiba and Akamaru and smashed them back into Shino, and then finally several meters deep into the ground.

Hinata was handing upside down in the air, looking at her unconscious comrades. "Shino! Kiba!"

The tongue of the golem that was wrapped around Hinata's leg pulled her closer to Kurotsuchi. "Well, you should be more worried about yourself than them. After all, this tongue around you might be just mud, but it's harder than steel."

The tongue flexed around Hinata's leg, and she let out a loud cry of pain.

Kurotsuchi smiled. "Although, I must say I'm mildly impressed. You are the first team to not run in fear after seeing this. So I'll tell you what. Just so the competition can be more interesting, I'll give you the scroll."

Hinata's Byakugan retracted. How strong was she to just allow this to happen? Did she not consider them a threat at all, just an easier team to face in the final rounds of the exam? She winced in pain again. This could not have been the only jutsu Kurotsuchi knew. There was no mistaking it. She was powerful.

"So hair-girl, we'll leave it with you." Kurotsuchi said. Being sprawled in the air with her head dangling, Hinata was finding it hard to focus with so much blood rushing to her head. "So, until then, get out of my face."

The tongue tightened even harder on Hinata's leg, and it threw her into the dark distance where Hinata smacked into a tree.

Kurotsuchi stretched and yawned. "Akatsuchi! Kuro! Let's move!"


End file.
